Should the Cowboys replace Ken Hamlin?
If that's the case, Allen would be the eventual replacement for free safety Ken Hamlin, who front office officials and scouts said had an average 2009 season.
Hamlin, who missed four games with a right high-ankle sprain, finished with 74 tackles according to the coaches film and he produced four pass breakups and zero interceptions.
When Hamlin was out, the Cowboys used Alan Ball at free safety and he received praise for his aggressivness. The best Hamlin did, at times, was line guys up.
In the regular season finale vs. the Eagles, Hamlin had four tackles and a pass breakup and in the wild card victory over the same Eagles team, Hamlin had three tackles and a pass breakup.
We're not going to talk about what happened to the Vikings.
Now, Hamlin is scheduled to make a base salary of $5.59 million in 2010. If there were a salary cap, his cap number would be $7.096 million, one of the highest on the team.
It's hard to put a rookie back there in the secondary sometimes, as the Cowboys discovered in 2008 when cornerback Mike Jenkins struggled with the first-team. But Jenkins played better his sophomore season, earning his first Pro Bowl berth, though it came after several players backed out of the game.
But if Allen is available, maybe the Cowboys should invest in a safety.
Calvin Watkins
ESPNDallas.com
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Calvin Watkins
Calvin Watkins joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He's covered the Cowboys since 2006 and also has covered colleges, boxing and high school sports.
Todd Archer
Todd Archer joined ESPNDallas.com in November 2010. He's covered the NFL since 1997 and the Cowboys since 2003. He covered the Bengals and Dolphins before arriving in Dallas. A Massachusetts native, Archer lives in the Dallas area with his wife and two children.
Tim MacMahon
Tim MacMahon joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. Tim covers the Cowboys and Mavericks. He has covered the local sports scene from high schools to colleges to pros during his six-year tenure at The Dallas Morning News. MacMahon is a graduate of UNT.
Jean-Jacques Taylor
Jean-Jacques Taylor joined ESPNDallas.com in August 2011. A native of Dallas, Taylor spent the past 20 years writing for The Dallas Morning News, where he covered high schools sports, the Texas Rangers and spent 11 seasons covering the Dallas Cowboys before becoming a general columnist in 2006.
Ben Rogers
Ben Rogers joined ESPNDallas.com in November 2009. He is one half of "The Ben & Skin Show," heard weekdays from 9a-12p on 103.3 FM ESPN.
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